Ronald Reagan and the World He Left Behind

I'm going to keep my words on Ronald Reagan relatively short... everyone has heard probably more than they even cared to hear about this great man (of course I could listen to stories about this man for days to come), and I don't want to be repetitious. But I did want to say a few things I gathered from arguably one of the most important leaders of modern history.

First and foremost, I will argue until I'm blue in the face that this man was the greatest president of the 20th century. Yes, FDR was fine and dandy, Ike made some great highways, and Truman really dropped the bomb on me (baby)... but I don't think any of these presidents led this nation with the same panache and confidence as The Gipper. This is, of course, coming from a guy who has only lived through four presidents, including GW. The rest of my knowledge comes from some excellent AP History classes, television, reading, and a general interest in politics. However I think I can generally argue that Reagan was a man who succeeded in giving America the greatest boost in morale, and at the same time was a man who break all the rules in the book doing so.

He was an amazing, and charismatic president because he was an actor. He knew how to talk to people, and he knew how to make them laugh. That's something that no other president can really say (although Nixon made us all laugh inadvertently). And perhaps that's one of the main reasons he was such an influential and effective president. Ronald gave speeches from the heart, he was very sincere, and he never took his title too seriously. If you look at modern day politicians like George Bush, Bill Clinton, and John Kerry... none of those guys can give a deep, heart-felt speech the way Reagan could. The only time I have really seen Clinton heart-felt was when he was investigating the definition of "is." They called Reagan the Great Communicator, because he did just that. Really, what other politician would "serve" his enemies like Reagan did. If Bush had the charisma of Reagan, he could have said to Sadaam "Listen, Hussy... we know you got the weapons, so just hand em over before we kick yo ass!" Okay, maybe if Ja Rule were his speech writer..

Reagan was also the man who finally ended the Cold War, a war that gave material for spy movies for centuries and also forever put Russia under the "bad guy" category. The man ended the longest war in American history without ever firing a bullet! I don't care what restructuring was going on inside of the U.S.S.R. (which is what some shmucks out there are trying to say) that inner-business wouldn't have been happening without Reagan's doing. Star wars!

Then there was Reaganomics (aka Voodoo-economics)... what a great idea! I mean, sure they didn't work right away. But by the end of his run, he set America up for quite the boom, a boom that really came into focus during those sticky Clinton years (face it kids, he didn't have much to do with that) Reagan knew what he wanted, he knew his beliefs, and he knew his morals. He let those guide his presidency.

Some people are comparing our current president to Reagan. And while this isn't true in all aspects, I do tend to agree. The main thing that makes Bush seem more like Reagan (face it, Bush isn't anything like his father) is his clear devotion to spreading freedom and democracy through the world. Reagan fought the Evil Empire, Bush fights the Axis of Evil. Two slightly different enemies, but two totally insane wars. Both of these wars are unlike anything the world has ever seen. Reagan fought an economic war. Bush is fighting a war where the enemy has no boundaries. And of course the other thing that brings comparison between the two presidents are their strong beliefs. Both men are moral leaders that remember this is "one nation UNDER God."

And so, as we say goodbye to Ronald, we put to rest a true leader. He gave Americans hope when Carter and presidents before him shamed us. He liberated millions. He told some pretty funny jokes. I'm glad I was born during his presidency, even if I was too young to even know who he was.